We recently connected with Débora Rosatto and have shared our conversation below.

Débora, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

Not supporting my acting career. Allow me to elaborate. When I decided I wanted to be an actress and told my parents about it, I was fairly young. My parents took my idea seriously, but they had to be mature, realistic and conscious about it. I was not born with any connections to the entertainment industry or near an entertainment center, so the idea of becoming an actress was simply a dream. There was nothing concrete in regards to that and we knew nothing about this industry and business. And on top of that, there was the age factor. How could they make such a big change in our lives including moving to a different state, from a small town to one of the biggest cities in the country, leave their stable jobs behind and start over in a new place, with no support system from other family members and having the risk of me changing my mind at any point? I have not changed my mind about it, but who would have known that for sure? My parents did something admirable: they thought about themselves too. There is a difference between me, as an adult, making such a move in my life and me, as a kid, wanting to do the same. They realized, at that point, that my dream involved more than just one life and they were mature enough to recognize that their lives and their dreams mattered as well. But they also thought about the positive outcome of that. What if it worked out? Was I ready to deal with the responsibilities? To deal with rejection? To conciliate school and work in a healthy way? Even more, was I ready and prepared to deal with fame, if that happened? To deal with negative comments about me from people I have never seen? To deal with that level of exposure? My parents protected me and helped me until I was old and mature enough to understand the weight of my decision and what could come from it – positive and negative. That was one of the biggest proofs of love they did for me. I said they did not support my acting career, but they did, just in a different way. We could not move, but we found Primeiro Ato, a prestigious acting school nearby, and they put me there. They still sacrificed a part of their weekends due to that, because the school was in a different city and the commute time combined with the duration of class added to a few hours. It took me many years to understand what great things they did for me, but they taught me huge lessons through them. One of them, which is my favorite, is that by doing the possible, we can achieve the impossible. And another one was to recognize until what point it is healthy and wise to sacrifice something for someone else. I would not be here without my parents, literally, but if I am who I am today it is because they gave me the best support system I could have asked for.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am a Brazilian actress with experience in Theater, Film and New Media. My most recent project is ‘The INsiders’, a film produced by creatives from nine different nationalities that talks about mental health and how you never know what someone is actually going through. Directed by Marion Battaglia, I play Elena, a kind friend to the protagonist Ivy – played by the wonderful Kaliste Rodi – who will do whatever she is able to in order to help her friend. I am currently in Brazil and on stage, where I play the famous and feared Queen of Hearts in an adaptation of ‘Alice in Wonderland’ written by Marcos Nepomuceno.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

That there is a method to achieve your creative goal. Actors know that there are a lot of methods out there being taught at acting schools, workshops, masterclasses and even on social media. And they are interesting and they do work. But not always. And not for everybody. For a while, after I discovered teachers who claimed to know the methods that the biggest stars of Hollywood used, I was easily tricked into thinking that I had to copy every single thing being taught in order for me to achieve my deepest and biggest level of creativity. For example, I was once watching a livestream on YouTube and the teachers of a specific method said that the easiest way to spot an immature – not amateur, immature – actor was to see if they would highlight their lines the moment they got the script. I am someone who has always used color coding as a way to help me study, visualize, organize and memorize things, even school related ones. I tried using this trick, but it hindered me more than it helped me. It saddens me to see so many actors giving up on their individuality – when approaching a script, when analyzing a character, when creating – to fit into a box in an industry where there is no box. As actors, we are part of the creative industry and creative literally means “relating to or involving the imagination or original ideas”. We are individuals. We are original. We are unique. It is time for us to act like that too.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

It is not always about money. I have always stayed active since I was a kid. I have taken dance, swimming and painting classes, for example, besides acting ones. One specific day, I was talking to someone who has been part of my life for a very long time, is a non-creative and was born in the 60s. At a certain point, I said that I had dance rehearsal on that day. During this time, I was part of a non-lucrative dance group called FlashDance. The group started as an initiative from our coordinator, Luciene Xavier, to take boys and girls away from the dangers of the periphery and fight against the sedentary lifestyle. As the group grew, anyone who wanted to join was more than welcome to and now the group has various members, from different ages and backgrounds, all united by the love to dance. After I said I had rehearsal, I heard the question ‘Why are you doing this? What do you gain from it?’. I proceeded to explain that I gained friends, a hobby, memories, collected laughs, increased creativity and memory, better motor coordination and body mobility. I gained quality of life. They then proceed to say ‘I am talking about money. Why are you part of this group if you do not make profit from it?’. I then realized the barrier between realities. To this person, it was insane to believe that I was using my time and energy to do something where I would not be making money from. I used the dance group as an example, but I also took acting classes without making any profit and was also part of a church group voluntarily. I dance as a hobby, I have no intentions in pursuing it as a career. How many times have we given up on what made us laugh, made us create nice memories and gave us the benefit of quality of life because of money? Money does not give us that. Living life to the fullest does.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm12644079/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deborarosatto/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqI3Rly6_e8uvdFM3Rc0Ph88sKFP4pXXt
• Actors Access: https://resumes.actorsaccess.com/deborarosatto

Image Credits
Cover Picture – Rony Lima / Headshot – Lucas Souto / Stage Pictures – Caio Machado